Conference 7.286::maynard

    Re .0 (Dace C):
    
    I like living in Maynard.  However:
    
    >One last thing -- my impression is that Maynard is a rapidly improving
    >place, with the new traffic patterns, the fixed-up downtown, new
    >stores moving in, renovations at Greenmeadow...
     
    "Improvement" is in the eyes of the beholder, one supposes.  the
    traffic patterns, for one, are the kind of improvement that illustrates
    the old axiom, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  A simple traffic
    flow has become rather complex and has resulted in the parking area
    behind Woolworth's (or Manning's, or ...) being used as a secondary
    road.  Not good.
    
    >................ we're looking forward to the having some room
    >and a place to park. What else can we anticipate?
                          
    Relative quiet, friendly neighbors, a slower pace, for starters.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.

    I, too, like living in Maynard.  I think it's in a great location,
    being halfway between Rts. 128 and 495. It has a small town feel,
    a downtown that can meet a decent percentage of your shopping needs,
    and a good mix of people. About half of my neighbors are young couples
    with children, another 25 percent are couples with grown, but living
    at home, children, and the remainder are older empty-nest couples.
                                                               
    What sometimes bothers me are the grown children.  All seem to be into
    cars and motorcycles, and seeing how much noise they can make. You'll
    notice a lot of Camaros around Maynard; this seems to be the car of
    choice.  The only way to drive these cars is fast.  The situation is
    the same with the motorcycles.  But it's really not that bad. In fact,
    the only reason why it's an issue is because the neighborhood is so
    peaceful and quiet otherwise.  It's the contrast that bothers me. 
                                                               
    But, getting back to good points, Maynard *is* an up-and-coming
    place.  Generally, the town is well managed, the services are very
    good (none of the adjoining towns have it as good as we do, with
    water, sewer, and town trash pickup). 
                                          
    As soon as you get settled, get a subscription to The Beacon --
    the town's only weekly local paper. There's pretty good coverage
    of town happenings.                   
                                          
    Also, get down to town hall and register to vote -- there's a special
    town election coming up in the fall.  Some issues that will be voted on
    may have a bearing on your tax bill. Learn the issues -- it's a good a
    time as any to get informed and get involved. 
                                          
    Welcome to Maynard!                   
    
    Joe                                         

We've been here 3 years and very much enjoy it.  I think the amount of 
foresight in the town government is incredible.  
	
	We have our own sewage treatment plant, that positions us for 
	federal funds to add on our secondary treatment plant.

	I feel the town buildings/land are well managed.  Green Meadown 
	being added to, the new playground construction, etc.

	The gararge was built so it could be added to if/when necessary.

	The downtown has been re-done.  Some people may not agree with 
	the traffic/parking patterns, but the general renovations 
	have made quite an improvement.


Additionally:

	The snow removal is incredible - better than anyone around

	Quiet, peaceful place to live; 	Generally friendly neighbors.

	Town parades, pep rallies, general town spirit

	Convenient location

 	Many people are adding to/fixing up their houses, general 	
	appearance always improving.


Overall, we really like it.  Good luck with the house.

	

	

For me, it's a good combination of the good points of city living - nearly
everything you need is within walking distance, good services, diverse
population - with the good points of country living - lots of greenery,
friendly people, easy parking, quiet.  It's got a lot of the advantages of 
a more typical suburb without the terrible isolation.

Getting from Maynard to nearly anywhere takes forever, because the roads
out of town are long, in poor shape, and often crowded.

My only exposure to the town government was a variance hearing before the
Zoning Board of Appeals, and dealings with the building inspector.  I found
those officials to be quite reasonable and sensible people. 

It's my impression that the schools and the library are not nearly up to
the standards of the surrounding towns.

Maynard's housing prices are still the great bargain in the area, especially 
if you like solidly-build old houses with character.

    I love living in Maynard. We bought our house 4 years ago, and it's
    been fun. In fact, we've gotten friends of ours to move here, too. 

    This is my first small town, and it's really nice. After awhile, people
    get to know you, and that's a nice feeling. We have lots of services:
    municipal services like sewers and water, trash collection (the new
    service starts next week!), etc. There are also lots of good stores: a
    good movie theater, two cobblers/leather stores, lots of drug stores
    and jewelers, two glaziers, two Cumberland Farms (well, it's not all
    good), the paper store, the outdore store, two chinese restaurants
    (although I've heard bad things about china ruby) a japanese
    restaurant, all the pizza you can stand, a nursery soon, some day care,
    and lots of resources for people in need.

    I've always liked being active in things, and it's really easy to
    become involved in Maynard. Partly that's because it's a small town and
    it's easy to find out what's going on. It's also easy because there
    don't seem to be many people really interested in getting involved,
    which is too bad. If you're interested, stop off in the Town Building
    (when you're registering to vote) and look on the bulletin board near
    the clerk's office. It lists all of the meetings going on.

    Sometimes I wonder about the "new" maynard vs the "old" maynard -- all
    of us moving in to town must have an effect on the people who've grown
    up there. Aside from the fact that there are all of these people
    around, what's happening to house prices (up quite a bit) and housing
    availability and the general pace of life?

    As of 5 July, I'll be workin in the Mill and walking to work. That
    should be nice.

    If you have any questions once you move in, feel free to ask. All us
    Maynardites are friendly.

    Well it appears that I'm the only lifelong resident of Maynard to
    reply.  It's nice to see that all the opinions of the town have been 
    favorable (so far) :-).  
    
    Both of my parents are from the city and when they moved here 30
    years ago they were very apprehensive about moving to the boondocks
    of Maynard.  It didn't take long for that to change.  
    
    The town has gone through quite a change over the years.  Maynard
    has always been known as a blue collar town, but it seems that in
    the past 10 years or so it has become a bit more upscale.  This,
    however, makes it tougher for young couples to buy into the housing
    market but, as everyone knows this is a problem throughout the
    region.  Fortunately, we bought our house about 6 years ago.

    Personally, I think the downtown revitalization was much needed.
    Although it's been a major headache at times, the improvements to
    the building facades, in itself, have made it worthwhile.  Once
    the trees are planted things will be shaping up.  Hopefully, there
    will be trash barrels for people to use.
    
    The services are good as has been mentioned.  Emerson Hospital,
    which is located in Concord, is also very good.  There is a children's
    museum (Discovery Museum) in Acton.  You're not too far from Boston
    or Worcester, and you're not too far from the coasts of N.H. and
    Maine, which are nice, and are much less crowded than the Cape.
    
    Do try to get involved in the town's happenings.  This is a very
    political town and with it being so small, every vote does count.
    
    Here's hoping you enjoy your move and good luck!
    
    Steve
    
    

    I'm not really a wet blanket -- but I have to say I'm ambivalent
    about living here.  I moved here from Waltham 11 years ago
    but I'm 4th generation in my family to live here.  I've always spent
    all holidays and vacations here and I can even remember when we had bus
    service.  The bus depot was where the thrift shop is now, and it
    went to the Harvard Sq. MTA station by way of downtown Concord and
    Hanscom Field.  There were two more movie theaters then.  One upstairs
    from the 5 & 10 and one in where the sport clothes store is.
    
    The new downtown is interesting, but not very practical.  The dress
    and shoe stores were driven out by the high rents.  The buildings
    that have been renovated are really impressive.  

    My rent has gone up $25-$100 a year since I moved here, but there's
    nowhere else to go.
    
    All of the good points mentioned in the previous notes are accurate.
    The natives are friendly and very accepting.  
                             
    The area I came from was nowhere as friendly or SAFE for my kids
    as Maynard is.  I just miss being a short hop into Boston.
                     
    

    I moved to maynard from Rochester NY about two years ago. I was
    there two weeks (still had NY plates on the car) and while driving
    past the mill at about ten at night, the local police pulled me
    over. Then two more police cars pulled up, one in front, presumably
    so I couldn't get away, and another behind. They had spot lights
    on me. They asked me to step out of my car, over the loud speakers,
    keeping my hands in full view. I did and noticed they were behind
    the cars with guns drawn! They searched me and my car, said I was
    going 32 in a 25 zone and let me go. I thought to myself 
    Welcome to Maynard!!! All this for speeding and no ticket. Give
    me a break. 
    
    The roads were junk, the traffic patterns ludicrous, 128 is a good
    half hour minimum away, and the rivers flood in the spring making
    traffic even worse, though I thought that would be impossible.. I have 
    since moved back to Rochester, but not for these reasons. The one
    thing about Maynard is the people, not necessarily the police, are
    friendly. I'm not really down on Maynard, but I thought I'd just
    relate some of my experiences.
    
    Dave.

    RE: -.1
    
    Where are the rivers flooding making traffic worse?  Certainly none
    of the main roads in town.  And, I certainly would hope that after
    the police do all that to you and then let you go that they would
    offer some sort of explanation.

Ahh, Rochester, now There's a place to live.  In Rochester,  you can
buy two houses for the price of one of Maynard's.  You can go shopping
at nice, WELL-STOCKED stores without driving into the next state.  The
local media doesn't have such a stuffy "arn't we just great" attitude
like the Boston TV and radio stations have.  Generally, you can trust
the town officers not to be corrupted by some special interest group
that secretly brings it's coherts to a town meeting to force their
issue.  (Thank you Concord Rd, in Acton, for reminding me how bad
Massachusetts politics is.)  The local calling radius extends from
beyond Brockport on one the west side to beyond where I know the names
of the towns in the east.  I think the entire county is a local call
from the city.  There's plenty of clean water, nobody ever worried about
toxic drinking water there.  The roads have shoulders and lots of room
to bicycle on without annoying the drivers.

Sure, there are some problems in Rochster too (overdevelopment, Lake
Ontario pollution), but sometimes I get the feeling, particularly in
the stores, that a lot of the good stuff never makes it this far east.

I like living in Maynard.  Victory is no match for Wegmans, but they
have food.  Jeff (Tru-Value) and Al (Aubashun) are no match for a
Chase-Pitkin, but they have hardware, and I know the folks that run the
store.  I have a nice house with a nice yard, so I can't complain.  (So
I have to rent out a room to help make the payments.  We enjoy the
company.)  I've learned to do without some things, like hardwood
charcoal and extra-thick-and-zesty Ragu sause, but there is a real
sense of community in this town.  You can feel it when you hang out
downtown, that if you hang out long enough, people will start to
recognize you.  While I would prefer to live in Rochester, I would
perefer even more to work for DEC than to work for Xerox or Kodak, so I
live in Maynard.   (I can't figure out how my father ever got any work
done with that thing tied around his neck all day.) The phones work
(unlike Hudson), the propery is affordable (unlike Acton or Sudbury),
the stores, for what they're worth, are nearby (unlike most of Stow),
so where else is there to go?  Maynard is where it's at.  (Well, okay,
it was real hard to find something bad to say about Stow, so I made up
the one about the stores, okay?.)

>    Welcome to Maynard!!! All this for speeding and no ticket. Give
>    me a break. 

    Well, at least you didn't get the ticket. It could have been worse. My
    very first speeding ticket was when I was moving from Buffalo, NY to
    Mass. It was right around Rochester, now that I think of it...

    					-- hs

    Re: Floods. I commuted to Walthan and Rt. 2 and 117 (is that the
    route #?) and had occasion to trek to Marlboro. All of these roads
    were flooded at one point, 117 and all other roads off 117 were
    impassable. I guess it was the Concord River wiping out the bridges.
    It is true that creek whachamacallit never overflowed it's banks
    while I was there, at least I never saw any bicycles, shopping carts
    or toxic waste barrels scattered around the streets as evidence,
    but I was left stranded in town with no way out.
    So naturally I went to the Cultural center of town, the Sittin'
    Bull (at least they don't have a sign in the window stating "Ladies
    Welcome") for some 'we're from here and you're driving my land prices
    up you preppy jerk' townie verbal abuse. But I guess thats another
    subject, you know, how there are several generations of Maynardians
    and now, because of Digital, their children can't afford to live
    there. Just go to the record store and pay 18.99 for a CD. I don't
    even think they sell records anymore, do they? 
    
    Redeeming attributes of Maynard: They had a great theater. Nice,
    clean, classy, they had icecream and free coffee . Past tense because
    I heard this was changing, owners couldn't make a go of it. They
    only had second runs at the time and I think the town did'n appreciate
    it, but I did. Has this situation changed?
    
    The jewlrey store on the corner near the theater, begins wth an
    M is teriffic, a little run down looking but people who really know
    the businss. If they would just keep normal hours or at least post
    the hours they do keep they would be perfect. Maybe this has chnged
    also.
    
    Mai Lings (sp) is real good.
    
    Hmmm, there are others but I have to pay the bills.
    
    Dave.
    
    
        
    

    RE: Floods
    
        I've lived in Maynard for 25 years and there has never been
    one time when you couldn't get in or out of town.  Of course
    areas alongside the river are going to flood, i.e. houses between
    Main St. and Summerhill Rd., but there are so many side streets
    in Maynard there's always a way around floods, construction,
    accidents, etc... if your familiar with the area.   Rt. 117
    can be traversed by taking the Old Powdermill Road (I assume
    your talking about Nine Acre Corner area in Concord) or Rt. 2.
    
        Even when the Assabet crested over into the Mill (before they
    built the new retaining wall) the streets were still passable.
    
        Maynard is a great town, I won't reinterate all the good
    points previously mentioned.   If possible, I'm not going
    to leave, it has everything I need, or is an easy commute if
    something is not available to another area.
    
                                               Mark
    

    Re: comments about long-time residents angry about increasing values.
    
    Well, we got the house. Hope to move in on Sept. 1.
    
    Why are we moving to Maynard? Location. Affordable (relatively)
    housing compated to surrounding towns. And, because we like the
    town. I suppose we are the perfect examples of those damn Yuppie
    types moving into the town and forcing out the long-time residents.
    But that's not why we're doing it. We're moving here to provide
    a good life for our son; because rent control is going away and
    we won't be able to stay where we are; and because we found a house
    we like, and can afford by spending every cent we have in the world,
    plus both of us working full-time.
    
    I hope that people who would like to live in Maynard are not priced
    out of their hometown. That happened to me; it's happened to many
    people in this state. But people are not moving here to force others
    out -- they just move in because they want to and they can. I hope
    we don't face resentment from long-timers who might see us as the
    cause of a problem. We are not the cause. Like everyone else, we
    are acting on micromotives, not widespread social trends. Complaints
    about increasing prices (and as a would-be buyer for several years,
    I've done my share of complaining) make me wonder what the alternative
    is. 
    
    Should we not move to Maynard in an effort to keep prices from
    increasing? Would the town be better off if Digital wasn't here,
    the Mill was rotting and empty, and the price of housing was flat
    or declining? That would be a real nice place to live.
    
    I have sympathy for anyone who can't live in their hometown because
    of rising prices -- despite the fact that their parents' home, which
    is probably owned free and clear, is worth perhaps 10X to 15X what
    they paid for it. But anger directed at "newcomers" is misplaced.
    It's a macroeconomic trend, not a conspiracy by Yuppies. 
    
    BTW, this soliliquiy isn't directed at anyone in particular, just
    some thoughts on a trend, triggered by an observation made in a
    previous note.
    
    P.S.  Re: getting stopped for speeding by gun-toting police:
    When you get a parking ticket from T. Vincent - PAY IT!!!  ;-)

    RE: Parking Ticket -- Amen
    
    RE: Floods
    I can see that I don't know all the back roads. There are quite
    a few. There were several days that the only way I could get to
    work was to try every one of the spurs off 117 before getting to
    that bridge. I ran into closed road after closed road until I finally
    got to Rt. 2, by a very round about way, and it was a parking lot
    because everyone else had the same problem. The water was up to
    and over the shoulders of Rt. 2 but I don't think it got any higher
    than that now that I think about it. I probably just saw the humanity
    sitting there and did not consider it a viable route. Thats why
    the good lord made modems I suppose.
    
    Re: the last two.
    I in no way wanted to discourage anyone from looking into Maynard
    as a nice quiet potential place to live. I just wanted to take off
    the rose 'close to schools shopping and churches' glasses for a
    moment. Maynard offers many advantages and desirable circumstances
    but has problems to. Like everywhere on the planet I suppose.
    
    Now if you want to talk relative merits about Rochester NY, we will
    need a whole new conference!!
    
    Dave.

        Re the floods
                
                When the Sudbury River decides to flood (that's the one
        that closes 117), there is a large chunk of area that gets
        difficult to get to. The reason is the lack of high water river
        crossings along the Sudbury. Once it gets high enough to close
        the major routes (117, 27 and 20) there is NO place to cross it
        between Potter Road Framingham (aka Stone Bridge Road Wayland)
        and Route 2 in Concord. There are actually about 9 places in
        Framingham to cross it at high water. I don't know about north
        of Route 2 as I didn't research it (little interest).
                
                What a friend of mine and I did was take road maps
        (including the C&GS maps) and find all the places that the roads
        went over the river and then we went to look at them (this was
        two floods ago when the cops weren't as paranoid about
        sightseers). There wasn't one where something lower slung than a
        farm tractor could make it. There were even spots where I don't
        think the tractor could have either! It's an experience standing
        in the middle of Nine Acre Corner (junction of Route 117 and
        Concord Road) and not having to worry about traffic because you
        could see water for 270 degrees of a circle. (It was also tricky
        getting there!)
                
                /s/     Bob

Just FYI,  the flood you are refering to happened sometime last year.  
You are right, 117 and other roads all around here were flooded out, 
it was very difficult to get out in any direction.  

I've been here 3 years so I can't tell you first hand, but that was 
referred to as a '100 year storm' throughout all of MA.

                It may have been a "100 year storm" but the Sudbury
        usually floods to some extent every two or three years, and in
        the last 15 years I think there have been 3 times that all the
        crossings between Route 2 and Framingham have been closed.
                
                /s/     Bob

    RE: .10  "Rochester"
    
>    I've learned to do without some things, like hardwood
>    charcoal and extra-thick-and-zesty Ragu sause, 
 
    I buy hardwood charcoal at the Finast in Acton, but I haven't found
    anyplace in Massachusetts where I could get Wings like in Rochester.
    
    
    

    
    I grew up in Maynard, on the corner of Lincoln and Concord Sts.
    I only left Maynard five years ago to move to Hudson (to a waterfront
    home). I always enjoyed the town, the schools, etc. Back in the
    sixties it kind of reminded me of a 'leave it to Beaver' type of
    place, where you personally knew the mailman, the milkman, and the
    police.
    
    I hope you enjoy your new home.
    
    BTW, which number Lincoln St. did you buy? It has to be one of my
    old neighbors homes. (I haven't lived on that street for a number
    of years, but it seemed that everyone there knew everyone.)
    

    We're buying #10 Lincoln from Jerry Connors.
    
    We like the neighborhood very much. I can't wait for my son -- 15
    months old -- to have a yard to play in. He's starting to get very
    cooped up as an apartment baby.
    
    DC

    	I moved to Maynard in 1980 from West Concord and I won't be
    going back! This may sound strange to some locals because people
    who grow up in the Concord area are inclined to "hate" people from
    and the town of Maynard (when we were young). I know some folks
    who would NEVER live in Maynard - even if they could buy a house
    for $100!
    
    	Anyway I like Maynard mostly because the residents are down
    to earth and not snobby (except for a few). And there are lots of
    places to go - I always see old friends from Concrd at the clubs
    here. The houses are affordable and I like the architecture of the
    older styles. In reply to the note about kids speeding around town
    in their Camaros - don't you remember being a kid? I would recommend
    to anyone I know that living in Maynard is OK.
    
    Mark Higgins
    

    Welcome to Maynard.I grew up in Bolton,my husband in Stow.We have
    lived inMaynard for 7 1/2 years.If you're coming from the city the
    traffic and associated noise probably won't bother you.It is pretty
    peaceful on Sunday mornings,except for the church bells.
                            Maynard is a very convenient town to live
    in,espescially for busy working couples.Good take out places,grocery
    stores,movie theater,video rentals,and some good close neighborhoods.
    Good babysitting and daycare resources close to home once you get
    aquainted with your neighbors.Good ways to do this are to go for
    a walk after dinner,attend a church (if so inclined),attend town
    meetings(and get involved).It took me a few years to get friendly
    with my neighbors (many old townies).When our first child was born
    it relly broke the ice.There are a zillion and one little kids in
    Maynard and all their parents are just like you - love to talk about
    their kids.After getting aquainted I realized I could have speeded
    things along if I had just been a little less shy and said lots
    of big friendly hellos and stopped to chat on my walks.I found my
    neighbors were curious but already close to each other.Be prepared
    to take the good with the bad and the inevitable gossip.

    We've lived in Maynard for 3 years now, and we like everything about
    it except that it takes so long to get to Boston...for the Sox games
    or the museums, etc.  I have one son in the 1st grade, and am
    really pleased with the school, the teachers, and especially
    the principle of green meadow.  I'm really looking forward to starting
    on the playground this fall.  The town has compariable opportunities
    for the kids, T-ball, soccer, summer receration and swiming lessons,
    there is hockey at the ice rink.  Hope you enjoy your new house!

    You can't get Zweigle's White Hots or Abbott's custard in
    Massachusetts.
    
    But somebody said that Grille 62 has Wings,(or is it the new "Pub";
    I've never learned any of the new names)
    
    Wegman's is the model of what a supermarket should be; some Star's
    approach it, and there's no reason you shouldn't be able to find
    "Ragu Thick and Zesty spaghetti sauce" around here.  How hard have
    you looked?

You can get "Thick and Zesty" only in the expensive small jars, not in
the larger size that I use.   I personally haven't looked since my
spouse started doing the grocery shopping, (a few years now) but she
keeps a lookout for them to re-appear.  I used to be able to find it at
the Donnelans in Littleton - but once they ran out they never got any
more either.  The shelf space was replaced with "garden style" Ragu,
which has a much to slimy texture for my taste, with all those globs of
vegetable matter in it.

By the way, Finast does NOT have "hardwood" charcoal in the sense I
mean.  I want charcoal that looks like chuncks of wood, and burns
almost completely, leaving very little ash.  The "briquettes", the only
thing you can get out here, leave behind huge quantities of ash that
must be cleaned out of the grill frequently, to keep them from
smothering the fire.

Zwigles "Texas Hots" are the absolute BEST!